Focusing on conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean, this volume of Studies in Media and Communications examines issues of digital inclusion related to young people, women, government policy making, and political engagement at the national and community levels. International contributors are experts in political science, social communication, media education, digital media, communications policy, gender and development studies, and social informatics. Some subject considered include media and visually impaired Caribbean youth, media education and civic engagement in Brazilian schools, women in Caribbean news media, and the use of social media platforms by women’s NGOs in Jamaica and Brazil. Other areas of discussion include assessment of ICT policies in Peru, inclusion policies and heritage preservation in Brazil, online interaction with governments, and technology use in Brazil’s favelas. Each chapter includes an abstract outlining the purpose, methodology, approach, findings, and implications of the cases and research in the chapter.
— Annotation ©2017

Laura Robinson, Department of Sociology, Santa Clara University Jeremy Schulz, Institute for the Study of Societal Issues, University of California, Berkeley Hopeton S. Dunn, Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication, University of the West Indies at Mona

Introduction To Volume 12: Digital Empowerment: Opportunities And Challenges Of Inclusion In Latin America And The Caribbean - Laura Robinson, Jeremy Schulz and Hopeton S. Dunn SECTION I: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES: YOUNG PEOPLE Disability And ICTs In The Caribbean: Enabling Visually Impaired Caribbean Youth - Lloyd Waller ICTs And Empowerment Of Children With Disabilities: A Jamaican Case Study - Floyd Morris and Anthea Henderson Experimenting With Media Education, Civic Engagement, And Sustainability In Brazilian Schools - Alexandra Bujokas de Siqueira, Andrea Berardi, Jayalaxshmi Mistry and Danilo Rothberg SECTION II: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES: WOMEN AND GENDER Gender Equity And Access In The Caribbean ICT Sector - Leith L. Dunn and Ayanna T. Samuels Social Media, Women, And Empowerment: The Uses Of Social Media Platforms By Wngos In Jamaica And Brazil - Nickesia S. Gordon and Juliana Maria D. Trammel Local Literacies At Play: Making And Breaking Learning In Trinidad And Tobago - Sheba Mohammid Women In Caribbean News Media: Challenges And Opportunities For Inclusion - Hopeton S. Dunn and Michele D. Thomas SECTION III: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES: EXISTING POLICY FRAMEWORKS Planning Without Impacts: Assessing ICT Policies In Peru - Eduardo Villanueva-Mansilla ICTs And Inclusion Policies In Brazil: Converging Efforts Toward Memory And Heritage Preservation - Natalia Nakano, Maria José Vicentini Jorente and Marcos Galindo Public Policies And Social Inclusion: A Sociotechnical Analysis Of Televisión Digital Abierta In Argentina - Soledad Analía Ayala and María Cecilia Vila SECTION IV: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES: COMMUNITIES AND THE PUBLIC SPHERE Autonomy Of Use And Online Interaction With Government - Alcides Velasquez Digital Inequalities In Brazil: A Weberian Analysis Of Technology Use In The Favelas - David Nemer and David Hakken Connectivity Public Policy In The Network Society: The Case Of “Wifi Livre SP” - Claudio Luis de Camargo Penteado, Paulo Roberto Elias de Souza, Ivan Fortunato and Sérgio Amadeu da Silveira Give Me A Mobile And I Will Raise A Community - Claudia Magallanes-Blanco and Leandro Rodriguez-Medina